Sunday, September 9, 2012

Way back in July, Austin turned 6 years old! He had lots of fun celebrating his special day. Because this was an even numbered birthday, he got to have a birthday party with all of his friends! We had a backyard water party. The kids ran through the sprinklers, played in the splash pool, had a water fight with water bottles, played water limbo, ate yummy snacks and cupcakes (made by Erik) and the big hit of the party was jumping on the trampoline with the sprinkler underneath! And as if that wasn't enough fun....as a family we went on a bike ride to get donuts that morning and we went to Chick-fil-A for dinner and then of course there were lots of presentsAustin @ 6...is still a cuddly little boyloves to ride his bike, build forts from the couch cushions, and loves to tease his brothers and tickle his mom!A few of His favorite things are :Chick-fil-AKit KatsAngry BirdsPhineas and FerbVideo games

Thursday, June 7, 2012

It's official I am attending BYU-Idaho (online degree program) and I have jumped in with both feet. I am very excited to finally be going back to school to get that degree that I started years ago. While my major has changed from Elementary Ed. to Marriage and Family Studies, I feel really good about this decision and I feel like I am on the right path. Anyway, I started a new blog for my religion class that I am taking this semester. I am studying the New Testament Acts to Revelations. If you want to follow along you can find it here:

Friday, June 1, 2012

3 years old already?! Didn't I just bring this baby boy home from the hospital? We had such a great day celebrating this sweet, funny, mischevious boy!
The day started with a giant monster birthday card for Ethan to color with some help from his brothers
(illustrated with love by mom)

Then we had donuts and went to the splash park (Ethan's favorite place to go)

Then we stopped at Jamba Juice for one of Ethan's favorite treats, smoothies and Pirates Booty

Later that day we had pizza and chicken nuggets for dinner followed by monster cupcakes with blue frosting. Then time for presents! Ethan got everything he wanted and more. Batman cars, Ligthning McQueen car,playdough,and animal cookie cutters (Mom, Dad and brothers). Nerf Gun, fingerpaints,smock and Bubble Guppies paint book (Grandma and Grandpa M), Money from Grandpa Jed and Grandma S. That's quite a haul I think!

We ended the night with homemade monsters from Mom and a movie night watching Monsters Inc.

It was a super fun day and we all loved making Ethan feel special!

A few things about Ethan at 3:

Ethan may be the youngest and the littlest boy in the family, but he is the boss. He has secret tricks for almost always getting his own way!

Ethan loves babies and dogs. Whenever he sees either, he wants to go and touch them and talk to them.

Ethan is very active. He rarely sits still and loves to jump off of everything.

Ethan gives great hugs and kisses.

Ethan uses good manners and he always says "tank you Mommy" When I do things for him.

Ethan won't sit in the shopping cart and makes shopping a challenge as he has a mind of his own and likes to wander off to look at whatever catches his attention.

Ethan loves to paint. It is an activity that can actually keep his attention for quite some time.

Ethan loves Lightning McQueen. Cars is his favorite movie.

Ethan loves to play with his brothers. Jumping on the trampoline is a favorite activity.

Ethan constantly says the word "stupid" and has been known to yell it out in the middle of sacrament meeting and in nursery. A few weeks ago Ethan was escaping from nursery and one week in particular he stood by the door, said "this is stupid" and took off down the hall....awesome! His teacher and I had a little discussion about how to handle the "stupid" word issue. To all the other mom's of nursery age children, I am sorry if your child comes home from church with a new, choice word.

Whenever we take pictures of Ethan he makes goofy faces and says "cheeeeeeeese"

Thursday, May 31, 2012

This year as a family we set a goal to read our scriptures together every night. We decided that it would be a great motivator for us if we had monthly goals to work towards and when we met our goals, we would get fun reward. So, I found a calendar on pinterest where we could keep track of our reading and then as a family we decided what each months reward would be. Our goal was to read 90% of each month which only allows us to miss about 3 days. I am happy to report that since January, we have not missed a monthly reward yet!

So, for April's reward we decided that Mom and Dad would host a Crazy Cafe for the kids. This was such a fun night and a great memory for all of us. The boys were sent outside to play while I got things ready. First I set the table and prepped all the food. Then I created the menu and had crayons ready, because you can't go to a restaurant without kids meals and crayons. Next the boys were invited in. I made them go around the house an in the front door where I greeted them as their hostess. Cameron walked in and immediately handed me a piece of paper all folded up. I opened it and as I read it, I burst out laughing. In true C family form, he had created a coupon! I love this kid! I think it's in the genes probably originating with his great grandpa C.

Next the boys were seated and given their menus. This is where it gets fun. The boys have to pick an appetizer, main dish and a dessert, but the catch is that they don't know what they are ordering. We used Disney character names in place of the actual items and each boy had to order one of everything. Then Brett and I served the boys their 3 course meal. The boys thought that it was so funny to see what they had ordered. Here is a list of what was on our menu.

Mickey Mouse=pizza

Mini Mouse= strawberries

Huey=straw

Duey=cup of ice

Luey=napkin

Donald Duck=apples

Pluto=party mix (crackers, pretzels, cheetos, etc)

Goofy= dessert (cookies)

Then as we sat and ate dinner, we played a fun game that we often play at dinner time. It is called "Would you rather?" Two options are given and the rule is you HAVE to choose one. For example, "Would you rather have your grandma's hairdo or her name?" It's always good for lots of laughs! The boys all said that this was a lot of fun and have requested to do it again.

Ethan is growing up so fast in some ways and not fast enough in others, but moments like this make me wish that he would stay little forever. Ethan went outside and parked himself right in front of the door and blew bubbles. I couldn't help but grab my camera to capture these cute pictures of him entertaining himself.

I need to get caught up with some blogging, so be prepared for post overload. It is an annual tradition at our elementary school for the Kindergarten classes to perform a circus. Austin was selected to be one of the clowns. This was his first choice, so he was quite excited. This has to be one of my favorite parts of Kindergarten. I love watching the performance. Austin did a great job! He was by far my most favorite clown and the cutest too (I am may be just a bit biased)!

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Whenever I sit down to eat my lunch I have to have something to read. I usually read the Ensign. I get excited when a new one comes each month.

Whenever I watch movies, I eat a yummy treat.

Whenever I watch movies (after I've had my treat), I curl up next to Brett and fall asleep. Drives Brett crazy that I can't stay awake.

Whenever I make cookies, I always eat too much cookie dough.

Whenever I feel stressed out, I like to play the piano. The music calms and relaxes me.

Whenever I hear or sing the song "We Thank Thee Oh God For A Prophet", I think about the time that Brett and I heard President Gordon B. Hinckley speak at a conference in Madison Square Garden in New York City. We sang that song at the end and as I sang, an overwhelming feeling came over me and tears came to my eyes as the spirit bore witness to me that he truly was a prophet of God. This was one of those special moments that helped shape my testimony.

Whenever I go to Utah, I love to see the mountains. There is nothing more beautiful than the mountains that surround the Salt Lake Valley. I miss them (and my family too of course).

Whenever I take my kids to target, I have to buy them ICEEs and popcorn.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Today is my birthday and I do plan to record all the fun that I've had in the past 2 days, but tonight I thought that I should take on question 2 of the "This is me challenge". Question 1 was pretty easy and simple to tackle, but question 2 really gave me something to think about. The question is

What are some choices in your life that affected where you are now?

I have often thought about this question. I know that I have made many decisions that have affected where I am now in my life, but for this challenge, I will list a few major, influential decisions. Let me start by recording a bit of my personal history. Many years ago as a Senior in high school, I had a decision to make about where I wanted to go to college. I always knew that I would go to college because for as long as I can remember, I desired to become a Kindergarten teacher. I had planned to go to Utah State as I knew they had a great program for my major. I had been accepted, an apartment had been reserved, and I had a good friend who was going with me and was also going to be my roommate. This was probably one of my first major decisions. Just as it was coming time to go, my friend came to me and told me that she just didn't feel right about her decision to attend Utah State, so she was backing out. I felt scared at the thought of going alone, but my plan was to go ahead and continue on, but as the time drew near, I too felt that this was not the right path for me. So, I switched gears and decided that I would stay home and begin my college education at Salt Lake Community College until I could decide what to do. That felt right and that's what I did. Shortly after that, I felt like I needed to go to Brigham Young University. This was a strange thought for me. I had never considered BYU before and believe me, my grades in High School were not good enough to get into BYU (they were good, but not straight A's by any means), but at SLCC I took school very seriously and worked hard and did really well there (It's funny how much more important your grades become to you when you are paying for your education.) I fought the feeling that I had to apply to BYU, but eventually I decided that if this was meant to be it would work out and all I really had to do was get my application in. I did what I needed to do and the day that it was due I drove it to Provo and turned it in. A short time later I received an acceptance letter. This decision has affected my life tremendously! After moving to Provo, I felt like I needed to apply for a job as a teller at a local bank. I had been a teller before and had sworn that I was done with that job for reasons that require a blog post of their own, but suffice it to say that my prior job in banking left me the awful memories of being robbed at gunpoint 2 times in 6 months and that, so I thought, was end of my career as a teller. So, when that feeling came, I thought that I had lost my mind. But, the job was in a bank in a grocery store and I felt much safer in that setting. So I applied, got the job and through that decision, I met Brett's cousin who set the stage for Brett and I to meet. Brett and I met, dated, fell in love and look at us now going on 15 years of marriage and raising 4 fabulous boys! The decision that I made to marry Brett truly was the best decision that I have ever made. It was a major decision and has affected my life in a very positive but life changing way. Shortly after we married we began our life together back east in Connecticut. I gave up for a time, the decision to become a Kindergarten teacher as I put my schooling on hold to become a wife and to support my husband in his new career with IBM in New York. Never in my life would I have thought that I would ever leave UT and there I was young and newly married navigating life in what seemed like a foreign country. But it was one of the best times of my life. I met so many wonderful friends, I had a job in a flower shop that I loved and Brett and I were very happy. The decision to become a mother was a no brainer for me. It was something that I always aspired to and during the course of our time in CT, we were blessed with the births of two of our boys. Then another decision moved our family to CA yet another place that I would never have imagined myself living. But here we are and while I've had ups and downs with adjusting to life in CA, it is home and we are happy. And during the course of our time here we have had 2 more children. It truly is amazing how our decisions really affect our lives. One little (or perhaps big) decision to attend BYU was the best decision that I could have ever made. It led me to becoming a wife and a mother and provided many opportunities for growth and joy in my life. One thing that I know for sure is that my Heavenly Father has had a hand in my life. He has guided me and blessed me in more ways than I can count.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Today was a great day! The boys had the day off from school, and Brett had the day off from work and it just so happened to be our Stake Temple Day, so as a family, we spent a good portion of the day here. I can think of no better way to spend the afternoon than enjoying the wonderful spirit of the temple. I love this scripture in 2 Nephi 9:52

Today my heart did rejoice. I love being in the temple with my husband, and I am thankful for our eternal marriage. I also felt joy knowing that Erik was having the opportunity to participate in baptisms for the dead. I was also grateful to know that my other 3 boys (Cameron, Austin, and Ethan) where close by being taught and cared for by wonderful leaders in the primary. There is joy in the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is joy in service. Families are eternal. These are truths that I hold dear and thank my Heavenly Father for. I truly do love to see the temple.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Valentines day is one of my FAVORITE holidays. It's pink and fluffy and all about hearts and love. A girly girl day, but who says boys can't love it too. I think that my boys do....or they do a good job humoring their mother. We had our annual Valentines dinner. Heart shaped pizza on Valentines plates by candlelight. This year I made the boys each a robot Valentine. They each had a custom robot drawn and colored just for them. Cameron was most impressed with my efforts. He said Mom! You sharpied and colored these just for us?! It's the little things! Brett and the boys got me a lovely bouquet of flowers that always becomes our centerpiece for the evening and brings me joy! Grandma and Grandpa M always send the boys a fun Valentines package in the mail and this year was so fun for us to scatter the Valentines goodies all over the table to add to the fun, festive decor for our special dinner. After a yummy dinner, we played UNO as a family. What a fun night. Now the countdown begins to my other favorite thing about February....Me day! Love that!

When you've been gone from the blog for as long as I have been, the question is where do I begin to catch up and do I even try to catch up? Blogging has always been a fun way for me to preserve my family's memories, but I've struggled with finding the time and motivation to do it. I wondered if I should even continue on with the task if it felt like a task. So the question I had to ask myself was should I continue on with the blog and I feel like the answer is yes. My blog is my family journal. It is a place to record the goings on in our lives. It is a place to record the accomplishments of my boys. It is a place to record all the little things that my boys do that I hope to never forget. Time really zips by in the blink of an eye and my boys are growing bigger each day and someday they'll head off on missions and venture out on their own and I hope that before that time comes, that I will have done a good job recording the everyday events in our lives for us to look back on. The boys really enjoy looking back through old posts and laughing at all the cute and funny things they have done. Even as I sit here typing this, Ethan is climbing all over me, pushing the keys on the laptop, giving me snuggles and showing me a sore on his finger that NEEDS a kiss right now in order to feel better. The boys are asking me to come snuggle up with them and watch movie before they have to head off to bed. So yes, while it is difficult to find the time, energy and motivation to continue this blog, I want to. It is worth the effort.